Northern Star Resources completes institutional placement

Northern Star Resources (NST) has successfully completed an institutional placement to raise approximately AUS$175 million through the issue of approximately 26.1 million new shares.

The placement was completed at AUS$6.70 per share, representing a 3.7% discount to the last closing price of AUS$6.96 (as at 29 August 2018) and a 3.5% discount to NST’s 5-day VWAP of AUS$6.94 (as at 29 August 2018).

Proceeds from the Placement will be used to help fund the acquisition of the high-grade 4.1 million oz Pogo underground gold mine in Alaska, US, from Sumitomo Metal Mining (85% interest) and Sumitomo Corp. (15% interest) for an acquisition price of US$260 million (AUS$347 million) with the balance being funded from Northern Star’s existing cash reserves.

The placement was heavily-oversubscribed, demonstrating overwhelming shareholder support for the Pogo acquisition and the Northern Star business model. Supporters included funds and accounts under management by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd, which have a substantial shareholding in Northern Star and committed to subscribe for AUS$57 million of new shares in advance of the launch of the placement.

Northern Star Executive Chairman, Bill Beament, said the strong demand for the placement was a huge endorsement of the Pogo acquisition.

“Existing shareholders, fund managers and analysts from around the world have said they share our view that Pogo is an exceptional acquisition which meets our criteria of owning Tier One assets with strong growth potential in Tier One locations.

“They also share our view that the acquisition is consistent with Northern Star’s policy of maximising financial returns, rather than growing production for the sake of it.

“I would again like to thank the Sumitomo team, who have been excellent custodians of Pogo for the past 12 years and we look forward to maintaining this standard as we integrate the asset into our portfolio.”

The new shares to be issued under the placement (‘Placement Shares’) will rank equally with existing Northern Star fully paid ordinary shares on issue.

Settlement of the placement is scheduled to take place on 5 September 2018, with allotment and quotation of the Placement Shares issued in respect of the Placement to occur on the ASX on 6 September 2018. The Placement Shares are also expected to be eligible for Northern Star’s FY18 full year dividend of 5c per share as announced on 23 August 2018.